To Hold the World
by Sirius Dogstar
Summary: When Reno is asked to take down the entire sector, he finds that there may be more than his pride at stake...


To Hold the World  
  
By Sirius Dogstar  
  
'Now what did I do?' Reno asked himself as he walked towards Rufus's office. In his hand there rested a crumpled note, crumpled from being shoved into his coat pocket to where no soul could see it. After all, it was not every day that a person received a summon in the President's own writing. How could he tell? It was quickly written as if the person had no time to waste, and it was on the President's own memo paper.  
  
He read it again, just to be certain. FROM THE OFFICE OF RUFUS SHINRA was emblazoned a deep black in official letters on the top, below the infamous red diamond logo.  
  
RENO, it read, COME TO MY OFFICE AT MIDNIGHT SHARP. Anyway that he looked at it Reno did not like it. Rufus was known for his secretive late night meetings. and the heads or bodies that came afterwards. Was this about him laughing at the news of old man Shinra's demise? Or was it something deeper?  
  
Reno's mind wandered further as his dusty and mudcaked shoes scuffled across the vinyl. He had the distinct impression that Rufus despised him, even from day one. Reno was not like the other Turks. He was not serious, or quiet, or even tidy in appearance. Even now his suit was wrinkled and unbuttoned, and his red hair was so long and shaggy that he had to tie it back. But he like it that way, and even Rude could not convince him to wear it otherwise.  
  
It was not just that that made him stand out either. He did not have Tseng or Rude's muscular build, nor did he have Elena's grace. On the contrary he was lean, and his features were quite sharp. Ordinary really. His attitude on the other hand was anything but normal. He could make a sailor blush and drink more than them, and he was not afraid to let anybody, even Rufus, how he felt.  
  
All of this added up to a midnight visit. It was also a known fact that Rufus Shinra would not fire anyone, for security reasons if anything else. Rather, they would conveniently vanish. The Turks had to dispose of the evidence, and that thought made a wry smile spread across Reno's face. Who would do him in huh? His best friend Rude? His respected if a bit uptight leader Tseng? Or how about that lovely new recruit Elena? Would she be the femme fatale? Hell! It might even be Rufus himself! (Wouldn't that be an honor?)  
  
Not that Reno was ready to die. Oh no! The rod that he always kept at his side was fully charged, and ready to give the smackdown if anybody tried. He would press the tiny button and then ram it so far up their.  
  
No more time to contemplate that however, as Reno found himself outside Rufus's office. In a second he pocketed the note, and straightened his face out of the rather twisted grin that it had been in. 'Time to meet my fate,' he thought as he opened the door with an almost shaking hand. "Come on in Reno," came the commanding reply. Reno took a deep breath, and opened it wide.  
  
There Rufus sat at his desk, of course tall and intimidating. On any other man the almost orange blond hair and blue eyes would have seemed friendly, but on Rufus they struck fear into even the bravest hearts. It did not help that his suit did not seem to have a thread out of place, and that his office was unlit and filled with shadows. Reno had to wonder as he stepped in front of the desk whether or not he was entering his own private Hell.  
  
Rufus stood up, and walked with calm, even strides towards Reno. Every move that he made seemed to ooze with power an control. He only stopped when he was directly in front of Reno, eye to eye. Reno eyed him defiantly, and only faltered when Rufus's face twisted into a smile. "Sit down Reno," Rufus said pointing to his own chair. There was no other chairs he could be pointing at, and Reno knew that Rufus meant it. Reno did not feel like seeing what Rufus's mastered Comet materia would feel like so he did as told.  
  
Rufus's smile broadened, and he moved to the front of the desk. Only this time, Reno was looking down at him. "Feels good, doesn't it Reno?" Rufus asked. Reno smiled to himself, unable to help it. It did feel good to look down at the strongest man in Midgar.  
  
"Yes Sir," he replied settling into the chair.  
  
"I knew it would Reno," Rufus replied. "But you should realize that I did not call you here just to sit." Reno nodded, standing up.  
  
"Yes," Reno replied getting into an offensive stance. "But I won't die that easily!" He brandished his rod, but Rufus remained in his spot. He didn't seem scared. no.  
  
He broke into laughter, throwing Reno completely off guard. "You honestly did not think I called you here to kill you do you?" the President asked.  
  
"Well yes," Reno replied sheepishly as he put the rod away, face as red as his hair.  
  
"Why would I kill my best Turk?" Rufus asked sensibly.  
  
"I. I am?" Reno asked dazed.  
  
"Of course!" Rufus replied as if it were common sense. "Why did you think that I have given you the toughest missions?"  
  
"I thought it was because you hated me," Reno admitted, shaking his head.  
  
"Quite the contrary Reno," Rufus replied. "I like that attitude of yours. The rebel. I also like the fact that you do your job and you do it well. That is why I called you here tonight. to give you a new mission."  
  
"What kind of mission?" Reno asked cautiously.  
  
Rufus just smiled again, and picked up a manilla folder off of his desk. "But first I must ask you Reno. if you had to choose between living yourself or an elderly woman who would you choose?" Reno just shook his head.  
  
"What kind of question is that Sir? I mean I really do not think."  
  
"Just answer the question!" Rufus snapped. Reno was silent a moment before saying his reply.  
  
"The woman would only have a few years to live anyways," he reasoned. "Whereas I."  
  
Rufus nodded, and handed over the folder to Reno. Reno flipped it open slowly. Using one of the little known skills Turks had he read through the folder in a few seconds, before handing it back to Rufus.  
  
"Sir." he said, his face pure white. "Surely you are not serious about this?" he asked shaking his head.  
  
"Oh I am." the President said. "That damn sector is where Avalanche's hideout is. If we destroy the sector, then we destroy them."  
  
"But what about all of those people?" Reno asked, his face concerned. He knew somebody very special to him there. his elderly guardian. Although he had not seen her since he had joined Shinra, he still cared for her very much.  
  
"Reno, you know when I asked you about that old woman?"  
  
"Yes."  
  
"You said that you would choose to live. And you know the penalty for not carrying out my orders. The choice is yours."  
  
"DAMN IT!" Reno yelled. *^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*  
  
"Mom?" Reno asked, at his old house's window.  
  
"Renaldo?" she asked, opening the door. Her face then lit up, and she threw her arms around him. "Oh it's been so long!"  
  
"I know," Reno replied with a sigh. "I have missed you Mom. I am sorry that Shinra has kept me so busy. Why don't we go have a bite at Sonny's?" She nodded, and so the two were off. Sonny's was in Wall Street, safely away from this one. He would then offer her a place to live at Shinra, and all would live happily ever after. Avalanche would be dead, she would be alive. Simple as that.  
  
Halfway through, he made the excuse that he had to take care of a routine phone call. "I will be right back," he promised, giving her a soft kiss as he left. Despite Avalanche's pleas, he carried out the order. He felt sorry for all of the strangers, he really did, but they had just been in the wrong place at the wrong time. He then headed back to Sonny's, as though nothing had happened. That was, until he read the letter waiting for him.  
  
HAD TO GET MY INSULIN, BE BACK IN A FEW.  
  
"No!" Reno yelled. "She couldn't have! NO!" He ran out, towards the ruined sector. All that he could see was debris. and one of them was the flowered purse Mom had always carried.  
  
"DAMN IT!!!"  
  
"We all have to make sacrifices Reno to gain the power we crave," Rufus said. Reno looked up to find him leaning against a ruined slide.  
  
"You killed old man Shinra. didn't you?" Reno asked.  
  
"You killed your mother," Rufus said. "See? We are more alike than you could have known. But tell me, will you reach the top too? Are you willing to sacrifice everything?"  
  
"There is nothing left to sacrifice," Reno replied, tears in his eyes.  
  
"Exactly," Rufus said nodding. "Now come on, this is only the beginning!" Reno did not ask what Rufus meant, but then he did not care either. There was nothing left. He had held the world, when he had held Mom in his arms. Now he had lost it, forever. He followed Rufus away from the wreckage, looking back one last time at the tattered flower purse before walking away.  
  
The End  
  
I know, I know, that was pretty depressing. It's not like I was depressed or anything, it just seemed like a tale that needed to be told. Should I stick to humor or was this a nice tale? Feedback is always BEGGED, or at least leave a review! Siriusstar13@yahoo.com is the address, so write! Here are the other stories, if you want to read them to.  
  
Teaching Series  
  
Teaching Aeris Teaching Cid Teaching Cloud  
  
AVALANCHE Series  
  
Final Flight A Leap of Faith For the Planet, For Myself  
  
Humor  
  
A Tail of Sorts A Day at the Beach Turk's Night Out Bigger is Better The Bet Making A Mark  
  
Other  
  
A Word of Love Dragoon's Honor 


End file.
